It’s not every day we see an NBC reporter write an entire thread blaming media/social media for ANYTHING, let alone Amber Heard being super unpopular. Granted, it’s far easier to pretend social media somehow magically influenced people’s opinions of Heard instead of admitting she is an abuser but we digress.
Kat Tenbarge wrote an entire thread about poor Amber and big, mean, money-hungry social media.
Take a gander:
For people who have been studying the misinformation campaign around the Depp v Heard trial, this verdict is chilling. The success of Depp’s “redemption arc” narrative reveals a lot about our social media platforms and ourselves.
A thread of things I learned during Depp v Heard:
— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) June 1, 2022
Media literacy around this trial was abhorrent. Most people, even if they say they did, DID NOT watch the trial. They watched TikToks and YouTube videos, most of which were biased for a clear economic purpose. That’s not the same thing.
— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) June 1, 2022
Media literacy.
Well, we agree media literacy is often abhorrent, but probably not for the same reasons she’s going into here.
What economic purpose? Well, follow the money. Most of the viral content around the trial fell into a dichotomy of “Johnny good, Amber bad.” As long as your content fit that narrative, it could increase your views, audience, and earnings.
— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) June 1, 2022
Follow the money.
K.
Posting from a pro-Amber or even a neutral position means you will lose followers. There’s no incentive to consider “both sides.” As a result, Amber’s evidence has been largely ignored.
— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) June 1, 2022
Many people who consumed this trial don’t even know that Amber has evidence, or that a UK judge ruled in her favor for 12 out of 14 incidents of abuse she testified to (with evidence). https://t.co/3GGaGT5cbI
— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) June 1, 2022
Sorry, no, many people do know.
And that doesn’t change the case here in America.
As Adam Waldman testified in this trial, YouTubers and social media played an overwhelming role in the perception of this trial. People who consume their news from content creators, specifically news around this case, believe it is more trustworthy than mainstream media.
— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) June 1, 2022
Perception of this trial … didn’t have any impact on the jury.
And sorry, not sorry, people aren’t stupid and absolutely do form their own opinions outside of social media.
Why do they believe this? Well, most articles about it tend to focus on reactions to the trial, rather than analysis of the actual evidence. @rottenindenmark has been doing excellent threads about this https://t.co/MnHvdRRkrc
— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) June 1, 2022
A pitfall of going to YouTubers and TikTokers for coverage is that these creators aren’t beholden to any editorial standards or journalistic norms. In fact, they’re incentivized to break them, to fit the narrative and make money.
— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) June 1, 2022
We’ve known for a while that social media incentivizes bad behavior because it fuels engagement. It also incentivizes conspiracy theories, groupthink, cruelty, and harassment. This case exemplifies all of that.
— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) June 1, 2022
Conspiracy theories.
The irony.
Many of the criticisms of Amber Heard are rooted in misogyny, but beyond that, they’re also rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of how trauma and abuse work.
— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) June 1, 2022
Yes, if you don’t have a positive opinion of Amber Heard it must be misogyny.
When people cherrypick from Amber’s testimony, hyper fixate on her emotions and “body language,” lie about her, and make fun of her, they feed into this culture that hurts ALL victims. Even if Amber isn’t a victim, this behavior hurts victims.
— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) June 1, 2022
This thread isn’t going to be popular, because reporting on this case fairly is really unpopular. When I first started talking about it, I realized that I couldn’t share anything neutral without attracting hate or losing followers. So I had to stop caring.
— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) June 1, 2022
Unfortunately, social media incentivizes us to care very, very much about what other people think of us. This has a net negative effect on social progress, because progress is rarely popular in the moment.
— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) June 1, 2022
As many people have pointed out, there will likely be a future redemption arc for Amber Heard, like there was for Britney Spears. I realized I couldn’t wait for that. I wanted to be on the right side of history today. End thread.
— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) June 1, 2022
The right side of history.
Woof.
No, media activists…this is not it.
People have eyes. We can tell the difference between a victim & a liar.
Britney Spears didn’t need a “redemption arc” because she never abused anyone.
There is NO comparison between her and Amber Heard.
Why don’t you believe survivors? https://t.co/ItMnuWDAQx— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) June 2, 2022
What Christina said.
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